Sony PlayStation Edges Apple iPhone 4S in Viral Video Shootout

Sony's Big Investment in Video Pays Off as Apple Reaps Free Media

Here's a newsflash for you: Apple's iPhone 4S video wasn't the most-watched viral ad last week. That honor goes to Sony and Deutsch for their PlayStation 3 Long Live Play campaign which includes a two-minute mini movie, "Michael." The campaign marks a significant investment in video for Sony, which reaped 8 million views last week. Viewable Media, which seeded the campaign, said paid placements account for about 1 million of those views.

In just about any other week, Apple's iPhone 4S video would have easily topped the chart with 5.7 million views. But remember, that 's just the first week; this video is just getting started. In the nine days since the intro of the phone, the iPhone 4S video has been watched 10.7 million times, which makes it the third most-watched Apple video of all time. At this writing, it is probably busy blowing past the Apple's iconic 1984, which has 11.8 million views overall. That ad, of course, aired 21 years before the advent of YouTube, but the passing of Steve Jobs has reignited interest in the ad, sometimes cited as the best TV spot of all time.

It's worth noting that the No. 1 and No. 2 videos this week combined for nearly 14 million views. Overall, it's the biggest viewing week for the chart since the beginning of August.

Also rejoining the chart this week is an ad for Republican hopeful Rick Perry, an ominous, highly-produced spot attacking President Obama, or as it says, President Zero. Gov. Perry was the first 2012 presidential candidate to make the Viral Chart. No doubt more of that to come.

Most Popular

In this article:

Michael Learmonth

Michael covers the intersection of technology, media and marketing, including Google, Facebook, Twitter and AOL. He edits the Digital section of AdAge.com and oversees editions of Ad Age's Digital Conference in New York and San Francisco. He joined Advertising Age in 2008 after working at Silicon Alley Insider, Variety, Reuters and The Industry Standard.